If Tomorrow Never Comes
by Darkpurplelighter
Summary: When the town is threatened by a serial killer, all hell breaks loose when the gang is dragged into the mess.
1. Days Gone By

XXXXXX

Johnny Cade was currently sitting in the court room, waiting for the jury to decide his fate. He was lucky enough to recover from the injuries he had received when the church beam fell on his back. Now he was hoping that he was lucky enough not to be sent to prison.

He looked back at Ponyboy who was sitting back with his brothers in the benches behind him. Pony looked just as nervous as he did.

A couple of seats back, Cherry Valance was sitting with Randy Anderson, both had testified that he had killed Bob Sheldon in self defense. Ponyboy too had testified.

A few minutes later, the judge came back into the room and addressed the court.

"Will the defendent please rise." He said.

Johnny and his lawer got to their feet.

"As the jury reached a verdict?"

"We have your honor."

The officer in the court room handed the judge an envelope. After another second, he began reading.

"We the jury find Jonathan James Cade…not guilty."

Johnny sighed in relief as the gang cheered after they heard the good news. Ponyboy jumped and came over, hugging his best friend tightly.

They all walked back to Darry's truck, Pony told Johnny that they all were going to play football in celebration. As the made their way towards the truck, Johnny turned when he heard yelling.

Randy was standing by his car, a boy his size that looked like a soc as well was screaming in his face.

"How that hell could you help that greaser get off the hook! He murdered Bob!"

"Back off," Randy warned while shoving the boy away from him.

"You traitor. I thought Bob was your best friend."

"He was."

"Yeah...some friend you were."

Johnny continued watching the altercation as the boy stalked away from Randy and headed back towards a mustang.

"Johnny come on!" Pony shouted.

Johnny heard his friend call after him and turned, heading to Darry's truck.

XXXXXX

A few months later, it was summertime in Tulsa, which meant the days were sunny and the nights were hotter than hell.

The gang had gathered at Curtis's front yard, and while they were hanging out, Steve complained about the heat, to which Sodapop poured his cup of water over his head. Steve responded by doing the same and after that, an all out war broke out.

Soda got out buckets and filled them to the top with water.

The bucket was heavy and Soda heaved it up, holding it above his head, ready to step forward and dump it on Steve. He took a step forward, knowing he was right there and tried to push the bucket forward.

Steve saw what was happening and reacted in a split second, throwing his arms up and managing to turn the bucket the other way as some of it spilled onto him, forcing the majority of it to fall on Soda, drenching him. He laughed as Soda shrieked, shaking the water out of his hair as he watched the water drench his from head to toes, his clothes sticking to his skin as he stepped back away from the flow.

Two-Bit grabbed the hose, aimed it at Ponyboy and hit him with a long spray of water

Pony let out a strangled cry of shock and immediately retaliated by grabbing his cup filled to the water and throwing its contents at Two-Bit. Caught in surprise, Two-Bit dropped the hose and before he had a chance to react, he was hit with another wave of water from the drinking glass.

Sputtering, Two-Bit wiped the water away from his face, "Now that, was totally uncalled for."

_SMACK!_

A wet cloth followed the same path the cup had just made. Two-Bit could hear Pony laughing as he removed the rag from his face and looked up with a grin that would have done the Cheshire Cat proud.

"What are you smiling about?" asked Pony, as Johnny snuck up behind Ponyboy and then dumped the water from a bowl on top his head

Ponyboy yelled in surprise and whirled around to see who did it.

"You are so dead Johnny." Pony growled.

Letting out a battle cry, Ponyboy tackled Johnny, sending them both tumbling onto the ground.

Johnny chuckled as Ponyboy tried to hold him down, then with a growl of his own, Johnny wrapped his arms about Pony pinning him down to his chest and then rolled backwards, taking Pony with him. They landed so that Johnny sat atop Ponyboy, straddling him at the waist.

In a sudden flurry, the two of them began tumbling about the ground, rolling around on as the vied for the control of holding the other one to the ground.

_RIIIP!_

Johnny stared in shock at the two pieces of white t-shirt he held in his hands. Smirking, Johnny wrung one of the t-shirt halves out, the water splashing down onto the face of Ponyboy who layed below him.

"Sorry, Pony," said Johnny, looking down at friend, grinning.

Before long they were all laughing, hollering, and enjoying themselves for the first time in many months.

"What in the hell are you idiots doing?" A voice asked.

They looked up and saw Dally standing over them.

"Who are you calling an idiot?" Two-Bit demanded, sitting up he threw the cup of water into Dally's face.

Johnny jumped and Ponyboy's jaw dropped.

'Two-Bit is _dead."_' Ponyboy thought.

"Two-Bit." said Dally, his mouth pressed tightly together.

"Yes, Dally? Did you need someth-" And then Dally struck, grabbing Two-Bit's neck and dunking his head into the water bucket beside him.

Two-Bit struggled and after a minute Dally released him and Two-Bit surged up for air, looking quite victimized with the front of his hair stuck to his face.

Dally then turned his attention to Johnny about to say something to him when Two-Bit picked up the bucket again and dumped the contents over Dally's head

SPLASH!

Dally was temporarily unable to see as his blonde hair stuck to his forehead and eyes and water cascaded down the top of his head.

Dally slowly turned around to lock eyes with Two-Bit giving him a death look. Two-Bit flashed a brilliant and supposedly innocent smile and in a flash, Dally tore after him as Two-Bit turned and ran for his life.

"Get back here, Two-Bit!" yelled Dally.

The gang looked on as the chase continued to unfold. Two-Bit running in a zig-zag pattern as Dally chased and cursed at him.

Ponyboy shook his head and walked back into the house as the others followed him in.


	2. Mystery Man

XXXXXX

Inside of the Shepard house, Curly was walking through the living room about to sit down of the sofa when he heard someone starting to bang on the door outside.

He walked to the front door and looked through the screen.

"What do you want?" Curly asked and a big guy stepped in front of the door, staring through the screen right into Curly's eyes. He was scary looking - tough, big and mean.

"Tim Shepard." The guy said.

"He's my brother. What do you want him for?" Curly asked, trying not to look intimidated by the guy's size.

"He owes me money."

"What for?"

"That's between me and him. But if he doesn't pay up...I warned him of the consequences and I'd gladly take payment by his blood, or even yours." The guy snarled.

Curly flinched a little, but stood tall, acting as though the guy didn't scare him.

"Look, Tim ain't here," he said. He was immediately starting to feel a little nervous as he saw the man's sturdy stature and reddened, angry face, scarred from fighting.

Curly opened his mouth to say something else but didn't have time. Tim shoved past and out the front door. "I'll handle this, Curly."

Tim handed the man a wad of cash, staring into his eyes.

"Here."

He didn't seem scared or nervous, didn't even flinch when Tim moved his hand to his knife pocket.

Curly was scared. Not just of Tim, but of the way this man looked at that moment. He looked tougher than he ever thought it possible for someone to look. It chilled Curly to the bone.

"Is that all of it?" The man asked.

"I'm not stupid." Tim stated.

The man flicked the bills through his fingers then put them carefully into the inside pocket of his leather jacket.

"Now leave me alone." Tim turned to walk away, but the man grabbed his arm.

"Hey!"

"What?" Tim spat as he spun back to face him.

"Next time play nice or there'll be trouble."

"There won't be a next time." Tim yanked his arm free of his grasp and, barging past Curly, and walked back into his bedroom. Tim sat down on the bed and looked over at the door and saw his brother had followed him, like a sheep.

"Who was that Tim?" Curly asked.

Tim shook his head.

"Don't worry about it."

Curly wanted to ask his brother another question but before he could Tim got up and headed to his room, closing the door behind him. Meanwhile, walking down the street Dally ran his hand through his wet hair as he mentally cursed Two-Bit who had managed to escape him.

'I'll get him back later' Dally thought as he entered Buck Merrill's place and took his usual seat at the bar. He looked around and saw that the place was already starting to get crowded.

Buck walked behind the bar and observed Dally.

"Why are you all wet Winston?" He asked.

"Just shut up and pour me a whisky." Dally responding, ignoring the question.

Buck glared at him for a second but did what he was told and filled up a small glass with alcohol and pushed it towards Dally.

Dally picked it up and began drinking as Buck changed the channel on the television until he came to a news report.

"A local teen was found murdered today."

"Jesus, another one." Buck muttered as the report continued.

"The victim was nineteen year old Diane Allen, she was found in her basement, brutally stabbed to death. There were no signs of a forced entry, and as of now, no major suspects."

Dally looked up as they showed a picture of the victim and did a double take.

"Hey…isn't that the broad who slashed Tim's face with a broken bottle?"

Buck stared at the television.

"You know, I think she is."

Buck turned around and grinned at Dally.

"Maybe Tim finally made good on his promise about tracking her down and teaching her a lesson."

Dally laughed slightly and finished his drink and thought about all the times Tim would curse that girl. He thought about it more and wondered if Tim would really do something like that.

Tim was a lot of things…but he wasn't a murderer.

"Nah, Tim wouldn't do that."


	3. Another Murder

XXXXXX

The following morning, Sodapop and Steve were hanging out in the living room of the Curtis house both having the day off today.

"There, I win." Sodapop said after he managed to slam Steve's hand onto the table.

"I want a rematch." Steve growled.

"No can do. I won fair and square." Soda grinned and threw a handful of potato chips into Steve's face.

"That's it!"

Steve jumped up to his feet and chased after Soda.

Darry had just finished showering and changed for work. He walked into the kitchen looking around for Ponyboy.

"Pony?" He called.

Darry walked into Pony's room when he heard noise coming from there and shook his head when he saw Soda and Steve rolling around the floor, wrestling.

"Soda, where did Ponyboy go?" Darry asked.

"He's at the movies with…Angela." Soda managed to say as Steve wrapped his arm around his neck and his hand on Soda's forehead, holding him in a sleeper hold.

Darry frowned.

Ponyboy had been going out with Angela Shepard now for over a month. Darry didn't like it, but there wasn't much he could do about it.

"What are you going to be doing tonight?"

"Me and Steve…are going to a game."

Darry nodded and walked into the living room and sat down on the chair, beginning to tie his boots. He looked up at the television as a reporter was finishing up the news.

"And lastly, another teenager, identified as 18 year old Randy Anderson, was found dead in his car last night. As of now, no arrests have been made. Police are combing the area, asking anyone to come forward if they have any information."

Darry blinked when he heard the name of the victim. Randy Anderson? Wasn't he Ponyboy's soc friend? The one who had testify on Johnny's behave at the trial?

"What the hell is going on?" Darry asked himself. This was now the fourth murder this month. This was getting serious.

"Hey Soda!" He yelled.

"What!"

"When the game is over tonight, you and Steve come right back here. And if you see Two-Bit, Johnny or Dally through the day them the same thing."

"Tell Dally what?"

Darry looked over and saw Dally walking through the front door.

"Is Two-Bit here?" Dally asked, looking around. "I want to kill that little bastard."

"No. Listen, if you see Johnny and Two-Bit, tell them I want everyone to stay over here tonight."

"What for?"

"There was another murder last night." Darry said.

"Who was it this time?" Dally asked as he sat down on the couch.

"A soc."

"Another one? Good." Dally grinned.

Darry shook his head.

"I don't anyone on the street late at night until they catch whoever is doing this."

"You don't have to worry Darry, the victims have all been socs…and one tramp. If I knew who was doing it, I'd shake his hand, buy him a drink, and talk to him the whole night."

"Look, can you just stay off the streets tonight…please." Darry said.

Dally rolled his eyes.

"Yes mother."

Darry smiled slightly and got up and went for the door.

"Thank you."

Dally nodded. "

I'll tell the others when I see them."


	4. Watching and Waiting

XXXXXX

An hour later, Ponyboy and Angela walked out of the movie theater side by side and headed down the sidewalk.

"That movie sucked." Angela commented.

Pony rolled his eyes.

"You don't like any movie. I should have just went ahead and gone with Two-Bit and Johnny. They were expecting me to go with them."

Angela glanced over at Pony and playful smacked his arm.

"Hey, stop whining. They can last a day without you."

"So…what now?" Pony asked. He actually wanted to get back home as soon as he could. He felt uneasy about walking around outside, even if he did have somebody with him.

"Why do we go back to my place?" Angela suggested.

"I…I don't know." Pony stammered.

"Oh, come on. There's always someone at your house. Tim and Curly won't be back for hours. We can be alone." She smiled at him.

Ponyboy sighed and continued walking with Angela until they reached the Shepard house. Opening up the door, they went straight to the living room. Pony sat down on the couch with Angela right next to him, but his mind was on other things.

"Is something wrong? You seem weird." Angela asked.

Pony shook his head.

"It's just…the murders that have happened. I guess I'm just a little spooked." He admitted.

Angela put her hand on top of Pony's.

"Don't worry about it. I mean, not to sound cold hearted or anything but you didn't even know who they were."

"Not exactly." Pony began.

"What do you mean?"

"The first one killed, she was in my Biology class." Pony said, then remembering her words that time he took his switchblade out to dissect a worm.

'They were right, you are a hood.'

"The other one was on the track team with me. I mean, he wasn't my buddy but I still knew-"

Angela placed a finger on his lips.

"Don't think about it." She interrupted.

"Have you told your brothers about us yet?" Pony asked.

"I told Curly. He's fine with it, he's always liked you. I haven't said anything to Tim yet. He's been acting strange lately."

Pony nodded.

"So, what about you? Do your brothers still not like that we're together?" Angela asked.

"Sodapop has always been okay with it. It's Darry that doesn't like it." Pony answered honestly.

"Darry needs to remove the stick from his ass."

Pony couldn't help but smile at that.

Angela leaned forward and smoothed his forehead with her slender fingers and kissed the offending area.

"I like it when you smile."

Angela leaned in closer until their lips touched. Pony smirked slightly, returning the gesture and began kissing more intimately.

Their making out session was then interrupted when Angela let out a high pitched scream causing them both to separate.

"What is it! What's wrong!" Pony yelled jumping up off the couch with her.

"I just…I just saw somebody in the window. He was watching us!"

"Stand back," he said.

Pony stood up and took out his switchblade, walking closer to the window. He carefully looked out of it, seeing nobody there.

"There's no one out here." Pony snapped. This was the last thing his nerves needed.

"I swear I saw somebody!" Angela said.

Pony sighed and shook his head looking back at Angela.

"I did!"

"Whatever."

Angela playfully smacked Ponyboy on the head.

"Why would I make it up?"

Pony narrowed his eyes and lunged at her. Angela shrieked as she dodged him and ran to her bedroom with Ponyboy giving chase.

"You're not getting away that easily!" Pony yelled as he ran after her. Before she could close her door, Ponyboy tackled her onto the bed.

Angela continued laughing at Ponyboy pinned her wrists over her head.

"Give up?" He asked.

She smiled up at him and Ponyboy leaned down and kissed her. Their fun suddenly ended when they heard the sound of somebody pulling up in the driveway.

"That's Tim." Angela gasped. "Come on, let's hide."

Pony got off Angela and they both dropped to the floor. Angela grabbed his wrist, pulling him under the bed with her.

"Why are we hiding? Shouldn't we just tell him now?" Pony asked.

"No, now's not the right time. Now be quiet." Angela whispered.

They heard the front door slam as Tim entered the house and walked through the living room.

Ponyboy and Angela remained perfectly quite now that they could see Tim's feet as he stood in the doorway of Angela's room.

The phone starting ringing to which Tim left the room and went back to the living room to answer.

"Hello?" Tim asked.

"Why are you calling here!" Pony heard Tim yell.

He listened closer.

"No! If I had known what you were going to do, I never would have agreed to it! Now don't you call my house again or I'll kill you myself!"

Angela jumped as she heard Tim slam the phone down and exit the house. A second later they heard the sound of an engine starting and Tim leaving.

"What was that all about?" Angela said to Ponyboy as they both crawled out from underneath the bed.

Pony shook his head, just as confused as she was.


	5. The Gang's All Here

XXXXXX

Ponyboy stayed with Angela until it started to get late and decided to call somebody to come get him instead of walking home. With the murders that had happened he knew that Darry would want him to call someone even if the Shepard house wasn't to far from his.

He waited for a few minutes until he saw Darry's truck pull up in the driveway. Ponyboy kissed Angela goodbye and walked out the front door to his waiting ride.

"Hey Darry," He said while getting into the truck.

"Hey."

"Did you have a good day at work?"

"Sure."

Darry started driving as Pony shifted nervously in his seat. He was expecting Sodapop or Two-Bit to pick him up. He knew that Darry didn't like him dating Angela, and he didn't feel like hearing a lecture right now. After a few more moments his oldest brother spoke up;

"Pony...I need to tell you something," Darry began.

Ponyboy rolled his eyes. Here we go.

"Pony..." Darry said again and sighed heavily. Pony looked over at him and saw how uneasy he looked.

"What is it Darry?"

Darry cleared his throat and spoke again.

"There was another murder last night. It was, uh, Randy. Randy Anderson." Darry finally managed to say. He didn't know how else to tell him and figured it would be easier just to tell him instead of dancing around it.

"Randy?" Pony then said, shocked. "Randy is dead?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry Pony."

Ponyboy stared at the dashboard in disbelief. Randy had testified at Johnny's trial that Bob Sheldon's death was self-defense. The two of them had become friends afterwards, and although they weren't that close, Pony was always thankful for what Randy did. And now he was dead.

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed that they were home now and Darry was squeezing his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

Pony nodded.

"They caught who did it, right?"

Darry shook his head.

"No. He's still out there."

They remained quiet for a few seconds before Darry spoke again.

"Look, everyone is going to stay over here tonight. It's going to be tight in the house but I don't want anyone on the streets late at night, or walking alone until they catch whoever is doing this. Understand?"

"Yeah."

Darry messed up Pony's hair and they both got out of the truck and entered the house. Ponyboy wanted to tell Darry about Angela seeing someone in the window watching them making out, and the phone call Tim got but decided not to. He didn't want to worry Darry and he didn't want Darry telling him to stay away from Angela.

They saw Johnny sitting on the couch watching television while Sodapop, Steve, and Dally sat at the table, playing poker.

"Hey guys." Soda greeted. "Wanna play?"

"Na, I'm not in the mood." Ponyboy responded as he walked over and joined Johnny on the couch.

"Darry?"

"Yeah I guess."

Darry took a seat at the table as Steve dealed the cards. Before beginning Darry looked up and noticed that they were one short.

"Where's Two-Bit?" He asked.

Everyone shrugged.

"He better not be off getting drunk somewhere." Darry said, sounding mad. With what was going the last thing he wanted was Two-Bit wandering around town in an altered state of mind.

"Don't worry, he'll be here." Dally assured. "And when he shows up, he's going to meet my fist."

Steve chuckled slightly that Dally was still mad about the water incident a day ago. Everyone went on with what they were doing for about ten minutes until they heard the front door open and close.

"Hey everybody." Two-Bit grinned. "Hey Dally."

Dally looked like he wanted to get up and pounce on him.

"Where have you been?" Darry asked, unable to tell if Two-Bit had been drinking or not.

"Around," Two-Bit answered and flopped down on the chair, humming loudly to himself.

"I think he's loopy," Steve said to the others. "But who knows with his goofy ass."

"Good for him," Dally said while looked at his cards. "Maybe he won't feel much later."

"Want to play poker with us?" Soda asked.

"Regular poker?"

Soda nodded.

"No, I think we should make the game more interesting and play strip poker," Two-Bit said with a smirk and then hiccuped.

"That would just make it more fun for you," growled Dally. "What would we get out of it?"

"For once," Steve chimed in, "I agree with Dally. We'd need to invite more women to this game before we play strip poker."

A few minutes went by, the sound of the television, Two-Bit's hiccups, and the ripple and snap of cards echoed through the room as Steve shuffled them and dealt out twenty-five.

Soda picked his up and quietly looked around the table to register everyone else's reaction. Darry flinched slightly as he picked his up. _Bingo, _Soda thought. The other two players showed no visible reactions.

Steve looked at Soda levelly. "I call." He added his money to the table.

Darry didn't even look up from his cards. "Call." The clink of money hitting money was music to Soda's ears.

After a heavy pause, Dally grunted "Call," and added his money to the pile. Soda tried to read his expression, but of course that's impossible when a person is expressionless.

Soda saw Darry blink when he drew only one card. Steve himself drew three, and Dally drew two.

Soda was left to open the betting again, and he did. "I'm feeling lucky," he said. He pushed the rest of his money into the center. "I'm all in." He smirked and looked around the table. Dally was glaring at him murderously.

Darry sighed. "I'm all in, too."

Steve simply said, "Call," as he dropped his money into the pile.

Dally stared at an unknown spot on the table for a second before pushing all of his winnings into the middle of the table.

Darry growled as he lay down his cards. "Pair of aces."

Steve was next. "Two pair."

Soda laughed as he lay his hand down triumphantly. "Full house, read 'em and weep, boys!" He displayed the other two aces and three queens as he reached his hand out to collect his winnings. "Thank you very-"

"Just a minute." Dally was glaring at him. Soda's jaw dropped in shock as Dally lay down his cards; the 7, 8, 9, 10 and Jack of hearts.

Dally smiled a rare grin. "Read 'em and weep, Soda." He chuckled as he scooped up his winnings while Soda sputtered incoherently. His whole face turned crimson and looked at the other two boys.

"What are you two looking at?" Sodapop fumed. He got up quickly from the table and pushed in his chair with more force than necessary.

Afterwards, they decided to join Ponyboy, Johnny, and Two-Bit in watching television. Darry made popcorn which ended up being used by everyone to throw at each other than it was to eat. After a few hours Two-Bit spoke.

"I'm bored," He groaned.

"Shut up," Dally snapped.

"Me too." Soda said. "Let's play football."

"It's dark," Dally reminded him.

"So what, you afraid of the dark?" Steve asked, but that only earned him a glare. Having the same amount of energy as Sodapop, being cooped up in the house doing nothing but watching television just wasn't for him.

"How about the bowling alley?" Johnny spoke up, surprising everyone.

"It's closed."

"The Nightly Double?" Pony suggested.

"We've been watching television for hours." Soda responded.

"Everyone is staying here," Darry said firmly, putting an end to the discussion. Sodapop sighed and continued watching whatever show was on. After a few minutes, an idea popped into his head.

"I know!"

Soda jumped up and ran to his old room. A second later, he was pulling his mattress into the living room.

"Wresting?" Darry asked.

"Yeah," Sodapop grinned. "So, who wants to challenge me?"

Steve smirked and kicked off his shoes before stepping up to his friend on the mat.

"Ready?" Steve asked.

Soda grinned and nodded.

The two of them pounced on each other, Soda used his feet to knock Steve on his ass. He almost laughed at the look of surprise on Steve's face. Before giving him a chance to retaliate Soda jumped on him and the two rolled around until Steve got the advantage and pinned Sodapop beneath him, holding his wrists down above his head.

Johnny counted to three and the match ended.

"I win," Steve said triumphantly into his friends face before getting up.

"Two-Bit and I will go next." Dally announced as Two-Bit made a funny noise in his throat as they both stepped on the mattress.

As soon as they started it off, Dally threw a right hook that Two-Bit dodged in the nick of time.

"Hey! You're not aloud to punch!" Two-Bit yelled.

"Says who?"

Dally swung again but Two-Bit dodged again and stepped sideways to avoid his fist and hooking his right leg behind Dally's right knee and dragging him to the mat.

Two-Bit quickly straddled Dally, using his knees to pin his elbows to the ground and Two-Bit's arms went behind him, hooking his elbows under the backs of Dally's kneecaps. Dally struggled to get out of Two-Bit's body lock and failed.

"You're not drunk!" Dally growled after the count of three.

"Never said I was," Two-Bit smirked smugly at Dally before letting go of his legs and getting off him.

Ponyboy and Johnny were the next pair. The match didn't last that long as Pony caught his friend in a headlock and dragged him down to the mat. Pony then sat on Johnny's back and pulled his arms back until Johnny hollered 'uncle' which ended things.

Two-Bit and Steve went next, their match last a little while both neither having the advantage for too long. Two-Bit finally captured Steve's ankle in his hands and twisted it until Steve gave up.

Next was Darry and Ponyboy but before they could start the phone rang. When Darry turned his head Ponyboy took advantage and jumped on him, wrapping his arms around Darry's neck.

Caught off guard, Darry stumbled backwards for a moment and went down with Pony on top of him. They rolled across the mattress each grappling to subdue the other.

With surprising strength, Ponyboy rolled forward, flipping Darry over to slam him to the mattress. While he was momentarily stunned, Pony snaked his arms out of Darry's grasp and seized his wrists in his hands. In less than a moment, Ponyboy had pinned Darry flat on his back.

Everyone looked surprised when the three count came. Darry had only ever lost to Dally in the past.

"You let him win," Soda said.

"I did not," Darry said while getting, just as surprised as the rest of them.

The last wrestling match was between Two-Bit and Ponyboy. The gang all cheered as the two boys fought on the mat, Ponyboy gained the advantaged and was on top for a minute before getting rolled over and the match continued. This kept going on for a minute until Two-Bit used the same move on Pony he used to beat Dally.

After hooking Pony's legs, Steve counted to three which ended the whole thing.

"I won the whole thing." Two-Bit celebrated as he got up. "Where's my prize?"

Darry handed him a beer.

"This will do."

After that was over, Darry decided to go to sleep leaving Soda's mattress in the living room. With the old mattress and the couch and recliner Darry decided to let them fight it out over who got what. Soda and Pony stayed behind for a few minutes, helping the others clean up before heading to their room.

"Hey Pony," Soda said while getting into bed.

"Yeah?"

"Darry told me about the soc who got murdered. I know you two were friendly with each other. Are you okay?" Soda asked.

"I'm fine," Pony said.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

Ponyboy really didn't sound fine, but Soda decided not to say anymore about it.

"Okay. But if want to talk I'm here, you know that don't you?"

"I know. But I'm fine, really."

Neither one said a word after that and as the two brothers fell asleep in their room, in the living room everyone else was getting situated. Dally sat down on the chair and propped his feet up when the phone rang again. Dally rolled his eyes and picked it up.

"What?"

All Dally heard on the other end was heavy breathing.

"Fuck off, no ones home." Dally slammed the phone back down and closed his eyes.

"That was really rude Dally," Two-Bit said.

Two-Bit was about to say something else but after the look Dally gave him, he decided to shut up and call it a night.


	6. Cherry's Misfortune

XXXXXX

The sound of raindrops upon the sheet-metal roof continued relentlessly with no sign of stopping as the sky was cloudy and the sun wasn't going to be seen on this day of summer.

Ponyboy rubbed his eyes and sat up slightly looking around the room and saw Sodapop sitting at the end of the bed. Pony's brows furrowed as he stared at him, wondering why he was sitting in the dark. He wasn't getting ready for work, or anything like that. He just sat there.

"Hey Soda."

Sodapop jumped slightly as he turned to look back at him.

"Pony. You scared me."

"Sorry." Ponyboy apologized.

"No, it's okay."

Sodapop went back to staring at the floor. Ponyboy could tell there was something wrong. He carefully threw the covers off himself and got to his feet.

"What are you doing Soda?" He asked.

Soda didn't respond, just continued staring at the floor, not saying a word.

"Soda?" Pony asked again, starting to feel a little worried. What was wrong with him?

"Pony." Soda sighed and looked over at him and motioned for Pony to come sit next to him. Ponyboy did so and as soon as he sat down beside Soda he noticed the grim look on his face.

"Soda what's wrong?" Pony demanded.

Sodapop swallowed nervously and hooked his arm around Ponyboy's shoulders.

"Pony...there was another murder last night." He began.

Ponyboy's eyes widened in fear and he tried to stand up but Sodapop kept a firm grip on his shoulders.

"Soda who was it?" Pony asked, not entirely sure he wanted to know.

Soda took a deep breath.

"It was...Cherry Valance."

Ponyboy jumped away from Sodapop.

"What do you mean it was Cherry?" He asked, tears beginning to spring to his eyes.

Soda got to his feet and walked over to Ponyboy.

"I'm sorry Pony, she's dead."

"You're lying!" Ponyboy yelled and tried to run out the room but Soda caught him and pulled him into a tight embrace and sat them both down on the bed.

Darry slowly opened the door and frowned when he saw the state Ponyboy was in. This Cherry Valance girl had spied on the socs for them. He didn't know a lot about her but he knew that Ponyboy once had a crush on her.

He sat down on the bed next to them and hooked a comforting arm around Pony's shoulder. Pony sniffed a few times.

"Pony I'm so sorry," Darry said and hugged him tightly, knowing with Randy being murdered and now Cherry it had to be hard for him.

"What's happening?" Ponyboy asked.

"I don't know Pony."

After another minute Pony got a hold of himself and lightly shrugged his brothers off him and stood up. The three of them went to the kitchen and Darry finished cooking breakfast. Darry and Soda finished quickly as usual, but Ponyboy only managed to drink his orange juice and eat a half of piece of toast.

"We're both going to take off work today," Darry said.

"No."

"What?"

Ponyboy shook his head.

"Don't take off work today, I want to be alone."

"We're staying home Pony," Darry said again. He figured with death of two of his friends it wasn't good for his youngest brother to be alone right now.

"Please." Pony begged.

Darry and Sodapop looked at each other.

"Alright Pony. If that's what you want." Soda said.

Ponyboy nodded.

Darry sighed. If really felt uneasy about leaving Ponyboy alone in this state, but decided to do what he asked.

"Just call us if you need anything, and we'll come straight home."

Ponyboy nodded again and Darry and Sodapop left the kitchen to get ready for work. As they got ready to leave, Darry staled and turned around to look back at the kitchen.

"He'll be fine, Darry." Soda said, trying to assure him and walked out the front door. Darry took one last glance around the house and followed him outside.

After exiting the house Darry closed the front door and for the first time in a long time, he locked it.


	7. Black Rain

XXXXXX

Angela leaned back against the couch and threw the remote down.

"There's never anything good on." She said and continued listening to the rain which was coming down lighter now.

When she was younger and use to visit her grandparents house, she would lay on the bed in the back bedroom and let the sound of the rain on the tin roof put her to sleep. Angela was about to go back to bed, hoping the old trick would work but knocking on the front door stopped her.

"I'll get it." She announced, and then remembered she was alone. Tim was gone and Curly was asleep. When she opened the door, she saw Ponyboy standing there, dripping wet and had a cut above his right eyebrow and another small one on his cheek.

"Oh, Pony!" Angela gasped and pulled him inside. "What happened?"

Ponyboy shrugged.

"I got in a fight on my way here."

Pony wasn't sure what he was thinking coming here. The reason he had stopped Darry and Sodapop from staying home was telling them he wanted to be alone, but after an two hours of being at his house alone, he began to regret his decision and made his way to the Shepard house, picking a fight with another greaser along the way.

He gave the other greaser a black eye and a bloody nose but took a few good shots in the process. Pony really didn't know why he did it, he guessed he just needed to release some pent up anger.

Angela grabbed his hand and led him to the bathroom.

"Keep it down, I don't want to wake Curly up."

"Why not? We can invite my brothers over and have a real party! One big, happy family."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Angela asked while closing the bathroom door behind them. She stood with her hands on her hips, looking at him, trying to figure out what was going on.

Angela pushed him down on the toilet seat.

"Sit down and shut up."

She cleaned the cut above his eyebrow and gave him a towel to dry off.

"So why did you come here? I wasn't expecting you."

Pony sighed.

"I just needed to take my mind off things." He explained while getting up and walking out of the bathroom and into the living room with her. "If you want me to leave I will."

Angela quickly shook her head and smiled at him as they sat down on the couch.

"No, I was getting bored and was about to go back to sleep."

She leaned forward and whispered in his ear.

"I'm glad you came over, now we can continue what we started the other day." Angela then gently kissed his lips.

Ponyboy smiled and returned the gesture. Angela pushed him down and crawled on top of him and started kissing him more intimately. Pony ran his hands down her back and Angela lifted his shirt, roaming her hands teasingly down his chest and finally to his zipper and slowly began unzipping his pants.

"Wait!" Ponyboy yelled and sat up.

"What?"

Pony shook his head, thoughts of Randy and Cherry coming to his mind.

"I...I can't do this right now. I just wanted to see you, I didn't want to..."

"Why not?" Angela asked.

"Well, did you see on the news...Cherry Valance got killed."

Angela glared at him and got to her feet.

"So what? Did you like this girl or something?"

He stared at her in surprise.

"Angela...she was just a friend of mine..."

Before he could continue the phone started ringing. She took her eyes off him momentarily and answered it.

"Hello?"

Pause.

"Hello!" Angela yelled and slammed the phone down.

"Who was it?" Pony asked hesitantly.

"Some dumb ass keeps calling here. He doesn't say anything, he just breathes into the phone."

"Angela, I'm sorry, I just-"

"No, it's okay." She said. "Look, I'm going to go to the bathroom and when I come out we can just talk."

Pony nodded as Angela walked away, muttering something about stupidity under her breath. He walked over to where some pictures were hung up and began looking at them when he felt someone wrap an arm around his neck and pull him to the ground. He yelped in surprise and then heard a familiar laugh.

"Curly." He growled.

"Hey buddy," Curly laughed. "Long time no see." Ponyboy struggled to get away but Curly wrapped his legs around him, so he couldn't really move.

"Give up?" Curly asked.

"Nope."

Pony continued to try to break free as a thought came to his mind.

"Was it you in the window the other day?" He asked while trying to pry Curly's arm from around his neck.

"What are you talking about?"

"The other day. Angela said she saw somebody in the window watching us make out."

"Making out? Dirty Pony." Curly grinned.

Ponyboy rolled his eyes.

"So was it you?"

"Of course not. Why would I want to watch my sister make out with someone? Did you think I'm so kind of pervert or something?"

"Yes."

Curly glared at the back of his head and was about to respond but Angela then came back into the room and saw what was going on.

"Curly! Get off of him!"

Curly quickly let go of Ponyboy and got to his feet.

"We were just playing around, I wasn't hurting your boyfriend."

"Just leave us alone." Angela said.

"Oh, pipe down, I'm leaving. See ya Pony." Curly said and walked out the front door.

"Look, Angela I think I need to leave now."

"Fine."

Pony sighed.

"I'll call you later."

Angela nodded and went back to her room. Pony walked to the front door looked back to see Angela closing her door, he slowly walked out of the house.


	8. Looking for Tim

XXXXXX

Ponyboy raced home as fast as he could before it started raining again. He tore open the front door and jumped in surprise when he saw Sodapop sitting on the couch reading a magazine.

"Soda," Ponyboy gasped. "What are you doing home?"

Soda looked up from the magazine, looking angry. Pony winced slightly, memories of the night he came home late from the movies, and how mad Darry had been.

"Where were you?" He asked. "I had to come home for a minute and when I get here you're nowhere to be found."

Sodapop got to his feet.

"I thought you wanted to be alone! Do you know how scared I was when I got here and I couldn't find you anywhere? You do know there's a killer on the streets don't you?"

Ponyboy glared at him.

"Yeah I've noticed, Soda. He's killed two of my friends."

Soda frowned and walked over to him and put his hands on his shoulders.

"I'm sorry I got mad Pony, but you know I couldn't stand it if something happened to you, right?"

"I know."

"You won't leave the house again?"

Pony shook his head.

"You promise me?"

"Yes Soda, I won't leave again."

Sodapop smiled and messed up his hair. Ponyboy then playfully shoved him.

"You're lucky I have to go back to work." He said, playfully glaring at him. Pony grinned as Soda walked out the front door and breathed a sigh of relief. He was glad it was Soda that came home and not Darry. He would have never heard the end of it and probably would have grounded for a few weeks.

For the next hour Ponyboy walked around the house, like a zombie going from room to room. Darry's room, Soda's room, his room, the bathroom, living room, kitchen, the closet, not really knowing what to do with himself.

Pony opened the hall closet and began going through the things in it, finally coming across an old newspaper headline.

"Juvenile Delinquents Turned Heroes"

Ponyboy began thinking about that night...Johnny killing Bob, running away, the fire at the church, and his and Johnny's trial. He slumped against the wall, and as he did, the phone started ringing.

He rolled his eyes and ignored it, and after a few rings, it stopped. Ponyboy shut his eyes and another thought popped into his head. The phone call Tim Shepard got a day ago.

_The phone starting ringing to which Tim left the room and went back to the living room to answer._

_"Hello?" Tim asked._

_"Why are you calling here!" Pony heard Tim yell._

_He listened closer._

_"No! If I had known what you were going to do, I never would have agreed to it! Now don't you call my house again or I'll kill you myself!"_

_Angela jumped as she heard Tim slam the phone down and exit the house. A second later they heard the sound of an engine starting and Tim leaving._

_"What was that all about?" Angela said to Ponyboy._

_Pony shook his head, just as confused as she was._

Ponyboy quickly got to his feet. Could Tim know anything about what was going on?

He quickly ran to the living room and picked up the phone, dialing the number to the Shepard house. After three rings someone picked up.

"Stop calling here you jackass!" Angela screamed on the other end causing Pony to hold the phone away from his ear.

"Angela!" Pony shouted.

"Oh, Pony…sorry." She said. "What do you want?"

"Did you just try calling here?"

"No, why would I try talking to you? You're too distraught over that soc slut dying."

Pony clinched his fist and shut his eyes, trying not to loose his temper.

"Angela...do you know where Tim is? I need to talk to him about something."

"No, I haven't seen him for two days."

"Alright, I'm going to try to find him. I love you, goodbye."

Pony hung out the phone and jumped to his feet. He ran his hand through his hair and continued pacing back and forth, a million thoughts going through his mind. Tim was a hood, the victims had all been socs, he could know something about what was going on.

When Pony finally got a hold of himself and stopped walking around, he looked at the clock and noticed thirty minutes had already gone by.

He decided to start to look for Tim at Buck Merrill's place. If he wasn't there, hopefully Dally was and he could ask him if he's seen Tim. Pony ran to the front door and took a deep breath as he grabbed the door knob, remembering what he promised Soda.

'Sorry Soda, this is important.'

Ponyboy ran as fast as he could until he came to Buck's place and walked through the door. When he came in he saw somebody he didn't recognize behind the bar, drinking.

He looked over when he noticed Ponyboy and his eyes widened.

"Can I help you?" The man said, looking surprised.

"I uh, I'm looking for Buck."

"He had to leave for a few minutes, you can wait for him."

"Who are you?" Pony asked. This guy had on a leather jacket and had stringy black hair. Pony didn't recognize from anywhere.

"I work here now, Buck just hired me."

Ponyboy slowly walked over to the couch and sat down and as soon as he did, a terrible, musty smell assaulted his nostrils.

"What's that smell?" He asked.

"A sewer pipe broke."

The man turned on the television and turned the channels until it came it a news broadcast. No surprise that they were talking about the murders.

Ponyboy leaned back against the couch and shut his eyes. He then felt weight added to the couch and Pony opened his eyes. The man was now sitting beside him.

"Been a scary couple of weeks hasn't it, with the murders going on?"

"Yeah,"

The man extended his hand.

"My names David."

Pony shook his hand briefly.

"I'm Pony-

"Ponyboy Curtis." David said and grinned. Pony's brows furrowed.

"How do know my name?"

"I remember you from the newspaper a few months ago. You were the one who saved those kids in the fire, right? The hero?"

"Yeah, I was."

Ponyboy didn't know why but for some reason this guy was making him feel uneasy.

"Well…uh, I think I'm gonna get going."

Pony was about to get up when David spoke again.

"Did you see the fish we put in?"

When Ponyboy turned to look at the fish tank, David slapped a handcuff on his right wrist. Pony jumped and looked back at him, looking terrified.

"What are you-" Pony's breath caught in his throat and heart stopped when David pulled out a large knife and held it against his ribs.

"Now, I'm only going to tell you this once…if you don't do what I tell you, I'll kill you."


	9. Killing Me Softly

XXXXXX

Rain was starting to come down again, the drops beating out a rapid rhythm as they hit the concrete. In the distance, the low rumble of thunder could be heard. The sky had darkened now, as more clouds gathered overhead.

Ponyboy looked down at the knife David had placed against his ribs and swallowed a lump in his throat as he could feel himself starting to sweat.

'What's going on?' He thought to himself. One second this guy was so nice and now he had a knife to his ribs. His heart started beating so fast Pony thought it would explode. David grinned and seemed to calm down and spoke again.

"The key to the handcuffs is in the bedroom." He said and glanced over at one of the doors.

David then got up and grabbed Pony's wrist, hauling him to his feet. And with the knife at his back, David guided him there.

Ponyboy's knees were shaking bad as they got closer to the bedroom door, Pony gagged as the stench got even worse.

"Open the door." He instructed.

Pony grabbed the door knob and did what he was told. When they entered Pony nearly screamed when he saw Buck Merrill laying face down on the floor with his throat slashed, in a pool of his own blood.

"Oh my god," Pony said to himself and turned away from the body, trying not to vomit.

With Ponyboy still cuffed on his right wrist only, the two sat on the bed together. David turned the television on and turned the channel to the news station. Pony started sweating, thinking about trying to jump out the window or go for the door.

"Put the both of your hands behind your back." David said.

Pony swallowed nervously.

"You, you can trust me…you don't have to do this. I won't try to run."

David shoved him down, so that he was laying on his back. He laid down and put his head on Pony's chest, listening to his heart beat. After a minute, David picked his head up and whispered to Ponyboy,

"I'm gonna kill you boy. And I'm gonna do it nice and slow."

He pulled Pony up so that he was sitting on the bed again and continued watching the television.

Periodically, David would start rocking back and forth, mumbling to himself.

Ponyboy began clenching and unclenching his fists as he listened to a police officer on the news talking about the murders.

"This was not random. This wasn't some killing frenzy. He was never out of control. These attacks were highly organized…"

"Who are you? What do you want?" Pony finally managed to say.

"You know who I am." David responded.

"I've…I've never, never seen you b-before in my l…life." He stuttered.

"Oh, yes you have. Think hard. I may look a little different, but we've met before."

Pony squeezed his eyes shut but was so scared he couldn't think. After a few minutes, the other boy spoke again.

"Give up?" David asked. "Well don't worry, you'll know soon enough."

He looked over at the clock. It was getting late and people would start coming to the place soon. David got to his feet and slammed the bottom on the knife into Ponyboy's head, knocking him out.

David picked up Ponyboy's limp body and carried him out the front door and into his car, throwing him into the back seat. He got into the driver's seat and started the car up, and began driving his way to the Shepard house.

About an hour later, both Darry and Sodapop decided to take off work early and come home. But when they arrived, to their surprise they found that Ponyboy was no where to be found.

"That damn kid, never uses his head! Even with a killer out there!"

Darry slammed his fist into the wall and cursed loudly. Sodapop held back tears as he tried to remain calm.

"Darry, relax. He'll be home soon."

Two-Bit and Johnny came through the door and entered the house.

"Sorry Darry, he wasn't at the Dingo or the lot. Should we go back out and keep looking?"

Darry took a deep breath. He wanted to find Pony but he didn't want anyone else on the street. He then started to think that he should call the police.

"Don't worry." A voice said.

Everyone turned around and saw Dally come in.

"I'll go look for him."

"You sure Dal?"

Dally nodded.

"Yeah, I'll find him."

"Thank you," Darry said.

Dally headed back out while Darry sat down on the couch and took a deep breath. If there was one person he didn't have to worry about being out there with a killer on the loose, it was Dally.

He could handle anything.

As Dally got into his car, he shook his head as he wondered why he was doing this. He then reminded himself that Ponyboy was a buddy, one of the boys and they all looked out for each other.

Starting the car up, he drove off as he thought about where Pony could be right now. Maybe at the Nightly Double?

But he shook his head. Pony may have acted dull-headed sometimes but he wouldn't go see a movie in the midst of all that was happening.

Just then, Dally remembered that he was dating Angela Shepard. Maybe that where he went. Stepping on the gas, he began going in the direction of the Shepard house.


	10. Finishing the Game

XXXXXX

_"You know what greasers are? White trash with long greasy hair," Bob Sheldon said. _

_"You know what a soc is?" Pony said, his voice shaking with rage. "White trash with Mustangs and madras." And then Ponyboy spat at them._

_Bob shook his hard, smiling slowly. "You could use a bath, greaser. And a good working over. And we've got all night to do it. Give the kid a bath, David."_

_Ponyboy ducked and tried to run but the soc caught his arm and twisted it behind his back, and shoved his face into the fountain._

Ponyboy's vision was blurry as he sat up on a couch, his head was pounding. When his vision cleared he quickly recognized his surroundings; The Shepard house. He looked over and across the room he saw Angela in a chair, her wrists were tied up and she had tape over her mouth.

Ponyboy forgot the pain in his head and jumped to his feet and tried to run over to her, but the back on his shirt was grabbed and he forced back down. Pony looked up and he was shocked when he saw Tim Shepard.

"Tim?" Pony gasped. "What are you doing?"

"Don't move Pony." Tim warned.

Ponyboy then looked over when he saw David enter the room. Hatred and rage immediately filled him.

"You," He growled.

David grinned at him.

"So, you recognize me now?" He asked while pulling out a gun.

Ponyboy looked back up at Tim.

"Tim, do something." He whispered, but Tim ignored him.

"You know, I was at the trial." David said. "And I had to sit there at that court room, and watch Bob's so called friends get up one by one and testify against him and help you and your filthy friend get away with murder."

David walked over to Angela, who stared up at him through terrified eyes.

"As far as your friend goes, I couldn't find him. Unlisted number, never went to school, doesn't have a job. But you…you were so different. The hero, track runner, best grades in the school, handsome older brother, and on and on. So I watched you."

David then slammed the side of the gun into Angela's face.

"Hey!"

Tim looked pissed and moved quickly toward David, but stopped when he pointed the gun at him.

"Move back Tim." He warned. "You're in this with me remember? It's your ass too, Shepard."

"You tried to kill me that night." Pony spoke up, ignoring whatever was going on between the two of them.

David looked back at him.

"We weren't doing anything wrong that night, we were just getting rid of greaser trash. And now…"

David slowly raised the gun and pointed it at Ponyboy.

"I'm gonna finish the job."

The front door then opened and closed. David jumped and looked over at the door, startled.

"What the hell is going on?" Curly asked.

David pointed the gun at him.

"No!" Tim shouted and tackled David. The gun flew from his hand and went off as soon as it hit the ground causing Ponyboy and Curly to drop to the floor.

Tim and David rolled around the floor, punching the hell out of each other. Soon, David pulled a knife from his pocket and stabbed Tim in the leg.

Tim shouted in pain and the two separated from each other and when David got to his feet he saw that Ponyboy had picked up the gun and had it pointed at David.

He had to shoot him. It would only take one shot.

Ponyboy's finger tightened around the trigger. He heard the shot before he felt the bullet leave the gun. It seemed to happen in slow motion. David's eyes widened just a fraction but enough for Ponyboy to realize there was no fear whatsoever, more like amusement.

The bullet tore through the skin right over his heart and red started to blossom on his shirt before David's eyes slid closed and he fell backwards onto the floor.

Ponyboy stared down at him, as the red stain became bigger and bigger.

The house was silent until the door was ripped open and Pony jumped only to see that it was Dally. The older boy looked shocked to see him and he went over to his side, taking his shoulder as he stared down at the body.

"What the hell happened!" He yelled. "I heard a gunshot!"

"That's the killer." Pony spoke.

A groan of pain was then heard and Dally looked over to see Tim holding his wounded leg.

"Shit." Dally went over to check on him before looking towards Curly. "Call the damn cops."

XXXXXX

The ride to the hospital was short one. Ponyboy sat in the ambulance with Tim and Angela, a far away look in his eyes as he stared out the window, feeling nothing.

Not pain, or worry, or panic. Just lifelessness, nothingness. Numbness.

He had killed somebody. Even if David did deserve it, Pony couldn't get it out of his mind.

Pony sat in a chair, waiting for news until a doctor came and told him that Tim had just gotten finished getting the wound in his leg stitched up. He slowly got to his feet and walked to the room the doctor told him Tim was in.

He walked in and saw a nurse was doing one last check up. After the nurse left, Ponyboy walked over to the bed and sat down next to Tim. They were silent for a minute before Pony spoke.

"So…were you helping him?" Pony asked.

"Of course not!" Tim snapped.

"Then why did he say-"

"About month ago, I was in the cooler remember?" Tim said, cutting him off.

Ponyboy nodded.

"That guy, David was my cellmate." Tim continued. "Anyway, we started talking, and one day he asked me about my scar."

Tim pointed to the scar on his face.

"I told him it was from some broad, and if I saw her again, I would kill her. We both got out around the same time and we started hanging out. One day he comes to me and says he knows where she is. He offered to take care of her himself, but for money."

"Tim…" Pony began.

"I paid him to scare her, not kill her."

Tim sighed and continued.

"I didn't know who he was...that he had killed two people previously."

"Why didn't you just go to the police?" Pony snapped. "You could have stopped this at any time."

"Are you kidding? If I had turned him in, what would have stopped him from telling them that I was in on the whole thing?" Tim said. "Think about it, the victims being all socs and I have a reputation lower than crocodile piss. They never would have believed me."

Ponyboy sighed, he couldn't blame Tim. He got up and made his way to the door when Tim spoke again.

"You know, I didn't have a chance to say…I think Angela is lucky to have you. You're one tough kid."

Pony turned around to look at Tim.

"I thought Angela never told you." He said, surprised.

Tim grinned.

"Shoot kid, I have eyes all over this town."

Ponyboy couldn't help but grin back.

"Get out of here." Tim said, and laid down.

As soon as he exited the room and closed the door, he heard somebody yell, "Ponyboy!"

Pony looked over and saw Sodapop racing toward him and launched himself into Pony letting out sobs.

"It's okay, I'm fine," Pony whispered, trying to comfort him.

"Pony!"

Ponyboy looked up and saw the others coming toward them. Darry looked angry and relieved at the same time. He pulled him into an even tighter hug Soda had him in.

"I'm never letting you out the house again." Darry said.

"Are you okay? What the hell happened?" Two-Bit demanded.

"It's a long story." Pony said.

Ponyboy then looked over at Johnny and decided that he would never tell him about David.

After a few minutes of waiting, the doctor came out again and told them about Angela's condition. Her ribs were bruised and she had a slight concussion but would be fine.

"Is she awake?" Pony asked.

The doctor nodded.

"She's in room 241." He said.

The others let him go, and he went off to the room. Pony opened the door as quietly as he could and slowly walked over to her. Angela had her eyes closed, he lightly tapped her shoulder, and she opened her eyes.

"Hello beautiful," He whispered to her. Angela smiled up at him.

"Pony," she sighed, his face peaceful in spite of the pain he was undoubtedly feeling. "I love you."

"Angela, I love you too. I'm so glad you're alright," He rejoiced. Ponyboy hugged Angela as tight as he dared without hurting her.

"Tim? Is he okay? Did something happen?" She burst instantly.

"He's fine," Pony told her quickly. "More then fine."

He stayed with her for a few more minutes, before Angela started getting tired and wanted to sleep. She kissed his cheek, and Pony began exiting the room in silence.

"I love you Ponyboy." Angela whispered again.

"I love you too."

Ponyboy closed the door and leaned back against the wall. He could breath again.

It was over.

The End.


End file.
